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Jan 15, 2014

Erin Condren Life Planner

One thing I loved about being in school was that fresh, new "assignment book" we received every year on our first day of school. I remember creating collages out of snapshots of friends, magazines and print-outs, giving my cover a makeover. I had all my subjects color coded with different pens. It was something I enjoyed. It kept me organized and I looked forward to taking care of my assignment book. Then I went off to college where we had the option of buying a school planner and of course I did. I don't think I carried around a bunch of colorful pens, but I do remember giving each subject a different highlighted color.

Then, I stepped into the real world where I depended on keeping my "schedule" in a digital calendar through my various jobs so that all my fellow co-workers had access to my schedule. It's just what we did. Now that I work at home, I find my self struggling to keep a digital calendar. No one needs to see it but me. It's a pain to create all the entries manually. I decided that this year, I need to get more organized on a day to basis and it was time to get back in the routine of keeping a planner.

The day I lit a fire underneath myself was just a few days before the new year. As soon as my husband got home from work I ran out to him and said, "Can we go to Staples?!?" and he replies "What for?!" I said, "I need a planner." The look I got was priceless. Anyways, I was told we were not driving all the way to Staples just to buy a planner and to look online to see if I could find something. And look I did! I came across this glorious website:

Miss Erin makes all sorts of cool customizable planners. After sitting on it for a few days and getting a hold of a discount code, I finally decided to make my big purchase. It was everything I could ever want. It was almost like buying a car. That's how excited I was.

I knew just what photo I wanted to use as the cover. After submitting my order, I received an email from one of her designers going over my order making sure everything was the way I wanted. He even caught that I had typed in "2013" instead of "2014" for my cover. Oops. Not surprised there. I had him change a few things around and then I sat patiently waiting.

My social life came to a hault. I refused to make any commitments until I had my planner to write in all my important dates. Ok, just kidding.

And then one magical day, it came.

I had never been so excited to get a package before in my life. I know, lame.

Everything arrived beautifully packed in bubble wrap and pretty tissue. Nothing beats a great presentation when it comes to customer service. I can tell they really cared about their customers and their products by just the way it was packed.

Ahhh yes. Exactly the way I pictured it would be. This is one of my favorite pictures of my husband. I took it when we first met with a basic point and shoot. Nothing special. You may have seen it around before :)

I love all the tabs for each month. It makes navigation easy.

And inside, the planner is littered with all kinds of fun, inspirational quotes. No better way to start your day then colorful, positive messages!

The planner is broken down by each month...

...and then it is broken down by each week. You can fill out your daily schedule for morning, afternoon and evening.

And the thing I love the most, ironically, as I am not a list maker, is the weekly goals and notes section. I can keep all my ideas, goals and thoughts next to my schedule.

I know it's just a silly planner and you're probably thinking I am nuts right now.. but this thing is loaded with so many cool features. Not pictured are appointment stickers, envelopes for storage, a notes section, an address section, a contacts section and much more. You're not going to find all that in just any old planner.

I do a lot of custom graphic work for people and it was kind of fun to have some custom work done for myself. I figured by the time I designed my own planner and purchased the ream of paper and an ink cartridge, it would have costed me the same amount of money. This way, I was able to sit back, relax and let someone else do the work.

9 comments:

Super jealous! I've been lusting after these planners for a few years now, but I've never had the guts to go through with it. I'm afraid I don't have enough of a social life to warrant it, but I still want one so bad! Maybe if I ever have kids one day and have to keep track of more stuff, I'll give in. I totally don't think you're crazy for being excited, I'm excited for you!

Third year?! Wow, you definitely love them. I am pretty sure I will get one next year too but I am waiting to see how this year goes. I hope it's not one of those things where I forget about it after the excitement wears off!

I love this so much! I got excited about you getting organized just by reading this! (ya I'm that geeky, I also have OCD) I'm so excited and want to get one so bad! (I don't have enough of a life to need a planner though...haha) Keep me updated on your updates! :)

You sound just like me! I love planners and office supplies. I had never heard of Erin Condren planners before I read this post, but I looked at her website and now I desperately want one. Maybe for Valentine's Day! :)

You better hurry up and order if you want it to be here by Valentine's day!!!! They are custom so they take several weeks. I ordered mine before the New Year and it just came.. they had some issues with mine though. The whole wrong date ordeal. And the file of the photo I sent was small so it pixelated on them. I had to send a larger file. Let me know if you *cough* or your man end up ordering one!! I want to see it :)

Ha, Robyn, that would have been the perfect gift! One could easily still a photo from someone's social media and have it made into a fun planner or something similar. You definitely need to order one of these planners in 2015. 2015?!?! Really?! That just seems so....... far away. But it will be here before we know it. As usual :)

I love planners and have used one for many, many, many years. I still have all of them and told my husband they are not to be gotten rid of. No matter what! They tell our story and our "history". I have one already for 2014, but it is no were near as cool or as pretty! But I can write in it, "Order a new planner/Christmas Gift" at the end of November!!!